Fire tower under construction at Mt Gellibrand

THE structure for a new fire tower on Mt Gellibrand has been built 22 kilometres west of Winchelsea to help local CFA volunteers better prepare for the upcoming fire season.

The Winchelsea Fire Brigade said in a Facebook post last week that the tower’s hut is expected to go up at some stage this week dependant on favourable weather conditions.

“Wow amazing news in regard to the new fire tower at Mt Gellibrand,” the post said.

“The footings have been laid, steel work to be done, new hut to go on next week weather permitting. Tower will be up and running before fire season.

“Fantastic work by all those in the background that made this happen. Huge asset to the surrounding community and brigades.”

According to a CFA spokesperson the new tower is built to withstand inclement weather and will provide enhanced safety for its CFA operators, as well as far-reaching fire observation across the area.

“The health and safety of our members is our number one priority,” the spokesperson said.

“The Mt Gellibrand fire tower will operate within the network of nearby towers to help detect fire in areas such as the Mt Gellibrand area, Otways and other open grasslands.”

The tower will help CFA identify fires on severe fire danger days, which in turn will help crews respond to fires sooner.

Fire towers are used for smoke sightings, particularly in remote areas.

However, with mobile phones, other advanced technology, vigilant community members and the travelling public, the CFA does not just rely on fire towers for early detection of fires anymore.